Iranian trio accused of spying in UK ‘arrived in country in lorries and on small boats’
17 May 2025, 14:12
Three Iranian men have appeared in court charged with spying offences on behalf of Iran's foreign intelligence service.
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Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday charged with offences under the National Security Act.
Sepahvand, of St John's Wood, Manesh, of Kensal Rise, and Noori, of Ealing, spoke through a Farsi interpreter at the brief court hearing to confirm their names, dates of birth and addresses.
No pleas were entered by the trio who were all wearing grey sweatshirts, with Sepahvand attending in a wheelchair and Noori hobbling into the dock.
They are all charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist the Iranian foreign intelligence service between August 14 2024 and February 16 2025.
Sepahvand is also charged with engaging in surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research, intending to commit acts, namely serious violence against a person in the UK.
Manesh and Noori are further charged with engaging in surveillance and reconnaissance, with the intention that acts, namely serious violence against a person in the UK, would be committed by others.
It also emerged the men were granted leave to remain after arriving in Britain in lorries and small boats.
Sepahvand first arrived in the UK concealed in a lorry in 2016, the court heard. He sought asylum on the grounds he feared for his safety if he returned to Iran.
Manesh arrived in the UK by boat in December 2019 and applied for refugee status on religious grounds.
Noori had his first recorded contact with the authorities in the UK in September 2022, at which point he applied for asylum.
All three were remanded into custody and will next appear for a preliminary hearing at the Old Bailey on June 6.
Dominic Murphy, the Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism commander, has described the charges against the three as “extremely serious”.
Read more: Manhunt after five men stabbed at party in southeast London
District Judge Annabel Pilling told the defendants: "I'm sending your case to the Central Criminal Court.
"There will be a trial in due course before a judge and jury if you plead not guilty.
"The next stage will be a preliminary hearing before the specialist judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb on June 6."
The three men were arrested on May 3, and five Iranian nationals were also arrested on that day in connection with an entirely separate investigation, with four of them remaining in custody after warrants of further detention were secured.
The four - a 29-year-old man in the Swindon area; a 46-year-old man in west London; a 29-year-old man in the Stockport area; and a 40-year-old man in the Rochdale area - were arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act, contrary to section five of the Terrorism Act 2006.
A fifth, a 24-year-old man in the Manchester area, was detained under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act before being bailed with conditions to an unspecified date in May.
The Government will strengthen national security powers after the three men were charged, the Home Secretary said.
Yvette Cooper said: "I want to thank the police and security services for their continuing work on this very serious investigation, and for their immense dedication to protecting our national security and the safety of our communities.
"The charges that have been laid against these three individuals must now take their course through the criminal justice system and nothing must be done to prejudice the outcome of those proceedings.
"But we will also take separate action to address the very serious wider issues raised by this case.
"The police have confirmed that the foreign state to which these charges relate is Iran, and Iran must be held to account for its actions.
"We must also strengthen our powers to protect our national security as we will not tolerate growing state threats on our soil.
"As part of that process we will publish next week the results of Jonathan Hall KC's review into the application of our counter-terrorism framework to modern-day state threats."
